Day 3. Funchal’s traditional market hall and a coastal walk

Funchal waterfrontWe ate breakfast out on the terrace again and it seemed even warmer than yesterday. Our plan for the morning was to walk along the seafront to the old town and then take the cable car up the mountainside to Monte, but it didn’t quite work out like that. We managed the first part, enjoying our stroll along to the cable car station but we decided against taking the ride up the hillside as there were huge queues waiting to board. The reason being that the P & O Ventura had arrived in port this morning and most of its 3,000 plus passengers seemed to share our plans.

Funchal Market HallWe thought it best to postpone our trip until later in the week, and instead, we headed to the beautiful old market hall with its stalls of exotic fruit, flowers and vegetables served by ladies in traditional national dress. The market is set round an open courtyard with a traditional black and white mosaic paved area, the upper floor has some craft stalls and a pleasant open air cafe.Central courtyard of Funchal Market Hall
We continued our walk through the town, returning to the hotel for a light lunch. About an hour later we set off again along the coast in the opposite direction, following the path to its end past the Funchal Lido and on to the Forum shopping mall. This shopping centre, although not large, contains a good variety of international brands over four floors overlooking an open courtyard. We paused here for coffee and then returned to our hotel along the seafront. The walk took approximately 40 minutes passing the ‘hotel zone’ home to many of the newer, large hotels.

The coastal path near the LidoThe Casino Park Hotel where we are staying, is closer to the town centre and was one of Funchal’s first hotels built in the 1960’s.Casino Park Hotel, Funchal
On returning to the hotel we relaxed in the hotel’s spa awhile before enjoying a late evening meal in the town centre.